The Fast & Furious series occupies a very unique place for movie lovers. One the one hand, it’s without a shadow of a doubt the most successful original franchise Hollywood has seen in decades, and has built a loyal following of fans who will accept any amount of over-the-top hokum it throws at them. On the other side are those who don't understand why people care about these obviously terrible movies. What the latter group fails to get, and the bombastic, gratuitous, and pure awesomeness of Furious 7 won't convince them, is how deeply personal these movies are when boiled down to their very essence.
No greater example of the close-knit ties
between this franchise and its fans exists than in Furious 7, which sadly marks
the final screen role for the late Paul Walker. His death in the middle of
production creates a chasm that simply can't be filled, even with his twin
brothers filling in noticeably in various scenes. But it's more than just the
physical stuff we miss. The oft-cited theme of "family' is pumped up more
than ever in Chris Morgan's screenplay, and every scene with Walker brings a
little pang of hurt. While there's a deeply sentimental tone throughout, Furious 7 is also the biggest, loudest, and
"holy crap that was incredible!!!" chapter yet. It's like injecting
Red Bull straight into your veins and pouring liquid speed into your eyeballs.
Once considered the red-headed stepchild,
2006's 'Tokyo Drift' is now one of the most important installments as
things finally came full circle after the death of Han (Sung Kang) at the hands
of Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the older brother to Owen Shaw who was
seemingly killed in Fast &
Furious 6. Deckard is an unstoppable force, and after making his presence
felt in explosive fashion, he goes toe-to-toe in the ultimate machismo showdown
against Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), leaving Hobbs laid up in the hospital. If
that doesn't establish Shaw as the baddest man on the planet nothing else
will. 
While Shaw seeks revenge against Dom and
the rest of his family, Brian (Walker) is entering a new phase of his life as a
father and husband, so surviving the war to come is more paramount than ever.
Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is still struggling to cope with her near death and
subsequent amnesia, with Dom basically doing a four-wheeled version of The Vow to jog her memory. The action once
again takes them around the world, with help from a covert agent played by Kurt
Russell, plus a stop in Tokyo to revisit Lucas Black's 'Tokyo Drift' character.
That scene doesn't work out as well as it should since the flashbacks don't
jibe with the present, but it's still a cool bit of nostalgia and
world-building. They also pick up a new recruit in Ramsey (played by the
incredibly hot Nathalie Emmanuel), a computer hacker with a super MacGuffin
device capable of spying on anyone. And of course Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej
(Ludacris) trade quips in the middle of pulling death-defying feats Superman
wouldn't dare.
And let's talk about those feats because Furious 7 is basically one mind-blowing set
piece after another, designed to evoke the loudest possible response from its
fans. In terms of plot this may be the weakest yet but incoming director James
Wan doesn't give a crap about all of that. He's dropping cars from airplanes
and flying cars between buildings! In one incredibly well-choreographed set
piece Wan hits us with literally everything he can think of: car chases, armed
buses, cliff diving, gun fights, a brawl between Walker and martial arts
superstar Tony Jaa, sniper rifles, Djimon Hounsou in slick shades...damned if
it doesn't have everything a genre fan could want. The only thing missing is a
cat fight and that comes later when Rodriguez throws down with UFC champ Ronda
Rousey. What's most impressive is that this is really Wan's first time tackling
this kind of genre, having built his career on horrors. You’d never know it,
though, and clearly he's been taking some tips from The Raid in the use of wild, kinetic camera
angles. The hand-to-hand combat is faster, the vehicular mayhem more insane
than ever. Even if this turns out to be Wan's only film before moving on he has
made quite the impression. Making less of an impact are Rousey and Jaa, whose
talents aren't given nearly enough time to shine. On the other hand, Johnson is
bolder and more oiled up than ever as Hobbs. In a film full of superheroes he's
the most superhero-y of them all, not even broken bones can stop him!
For those who wonder why these movies are
so successful? It's really quite simple. As over-the-top and stupidly
unbelievable as many of the action scenes are, they are balanced nicely an
emotional sincerity that is easy to understand. None of these characters are
especially deep, we all get that, but we recognize that they would all die to
protect one another. That's an incredibly powerful thing that the franchise has
tapped into, and Furious 7 keeps that tradition alive even when
turning the page.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
